Stand Up Against The Knot’s Proposed Price Quote System!

I recently got a few emails from The Knot asking me if I wanted to participate in beta testing a new quote system. Boo!

I chose not to participate. The Knot described the new program as “providing us with details such as the wedding date and venue” so that we could give the lead a number ASAP. Sigh!

Like many of you, I get the majority of my clients from The Knot (more than half). I’m pretty sure one of the reasons for that is because The Knot advertising is *not* Thumbtack or Gig Masters or any of the other “price is the priority” websites (Gig Salad, Wedding.com).

For vendors with below average and average prices, quote websites are a great fit. (No judgment—I was once there myself. Remember Decidio? Seven years ago that was my bread & butter!)

For those of us priced on the high end of average or above, the website that provides the couples willing to pay the highest documented prices for wedding DJs (among other vendors), is The Knot.*

*In 2014, the average bride/groom on The Knot spent $1,124 for their wedding DJ. In contrast, those who shop on price quote website Thumbtack who reports an average spend of $611.

Unwelcome Changes at The Knot

Therefore, the introduction of a quote system is very disappointing. As we gain experience, we no longer “lead” with our price as we once did. We now lead with our expertise, knowledge, and hard-earned reputation.

In addition to not wanting to turn The Knot into a price shopper magnet, I was also irritated that The Knot described this new quote system like it was going to give us extra information about the couples.

Just a heads up to the big wigs at The Knot, but you already give us the couple’s date and wedding location—this isn’t new.

Now this is pure conjecture, but it seems that The Knot is not asking its advertisers what kind of changes we’d like to be beta testing…and instead only considering what the people who don’t pay their salaries want.

In the last few months, The Knot has also taken away our leads’ real email addresses and replaced them with Craigslist-style relay addresses.

Send a Letter of Protest

So, Book More Brides community, if you are paying almost $2,500 a year to The Knot (as I am) and feel that these changes do NOT represent you and other wedding pros interests, I highly encourage you take a minute to copy and paste the following email to myaccounthelp@theknot.com (be sure to CC your local sales rep):

Hello,

I am an advertiser on your website, and I am greatly displeased to learn that you are beta testing a quote system for wedding vendors.

One of the reasons I spend $2,500+/- annually on advertising with The Knot is because your focus is on quality, style, and substance rather than simply pricing. Currently, you offer clients who are willing to pay premium prices for wedding services–not “price shoppers” but rather “quality shoppers” or “expertise shoppers.”

A quote system would not represent what is best for your advertisers, as it would simply encourage “price shopping.” Wedding professionals who prefer to work through quote-delivery websites already have a myriad of options (Thumbtack, Gig Masters, Wedding.com, Gig Salad, etc). If that is how we wanted to attract business, we wouldn’t be paying a premium price to The Knot for advertising.

Trust me, if I want to merely generate quotes for people who can’t even bother to email back and forth with me before seeing a price, I’ll do so elsewhere where I can advertise for well under half of what I currently pay to The Knot.

I urge you to take care of your advertisers as we take care of you. Thank you.

Stephanie Padovani and her husband, Jeff, are the dynamic husband-wife duo behind Book More Brides, the #1 marketing resource for for the wedding industry. Visit BookMoreBrides.com/mb to learn, “21 Must Have FREE Tools to Turbo Charge Your Wedding Business.”

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Latest Comments

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In response to the context of the Blog post, I don't believe that The Knot is trying to dictate how we do business with the introduction of the Proposal Builder Beta test. The Knot and its product development team are actually trying to help us conduct business better. To correct some misunderstanding out there, the proposal builder is not a bidding system -- it simply helps us build proposals right into our initial reply to the bride or groom (which most of us are doing already). The way couples communicate is vastly different today than it was 5 years ago, simple, direct and to the point. Brides today are inundated with emails, phone calls and text messages making it difficult for them to manage the communication process. Couples want clear and concise information up front, they don't want to read a long email to find the information they're looking for -- and, we would all like to spend less time following up with leads who are just price shopping! Pricing isn't the ONLY thing couples consider, but it's one of the first things they look for.
The Knot is trying to adapt to keep up with what our potential clients want by testing new products with small groups of wedding vendors such as DJs and entertainers. I talked to the team at The Knot when they were thinking about this test and their goals is to help couples with this upfront research process so we could book more of the right couples faster.
I think this is a good thing for our industry and for our potential clients. I am actively participating in the Beta test with good results. Brides are responding faster, and more willing to continue the conversation. More importantly I have found the sales process is taking less of my time and the turn around to booking a new client has been dramatically reduced. I've been able to establish great relationships with the team at The Knot, so if you have any questions, I am happy to help. "